Inauguration 2021

The 2021 inauguration horoscope seems to indicate a period of momentous change and potential turmoil, upheaval and even loss during the term.  Seven planets all square one another, and Neptune squares the Nodes.  Certainly there should be many noteworthy events in the coming four years, and we also appear to be moving into a new and different situation.  Is it possible to be more specific?

We can get a better idea of what we might expect in the future by looking back through history.  While I’ve seen no inauguration horoscope as focused or dramatic as 2021, various elements repeat themselves from previous administrations. 

Pluto can relate to financial issues, power, essential transformation and intervention or even manipulation.  Pluto with the Sun or Midheaven in an inauguration horoscope may show the president’s experience with these issues during the term.

Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 administration and James Monroe’s 1817 term both had the Sun conjunct Pluto in Pisces.  William McKinley (and Theodore Roosevelt) had the inaugural Sun and Mercury in a T-square with Uranus and Pluto.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt had an angular grand cross with the Sun, Moon, Mars, Uranus and Pluto in 1937 and a fixed grand cross with the Sun, Moon, Mercury and Pluto in 1941.  Ronald Reagan’s 1981 inauguration had the Sun, Moon and Nodes square Pluto. 

Most of these Plutonian administrations were notable victories for the presidents elected.  They all sought to unite the country in various ways, and often succeeded (the above list includes some of the most notable presidents in history).  The political parties themselves also underwent change either in their evolution or due to reforms or other pressing issues.  Developments in the country’s territory, alliances and antagonisms came to the forefront.  Financial affairs were often highlighted, with important changes in policies and trends.  The presidents either chose to utilize more fiscal or political power, or were forced to do so. 

Hard aspects from Uranus to the Sun in inauguration horoscopes created surprising and unforeseen circumstances in administrations that started with them.  They coincided with danger to the chief executive as well as some of the shortest of presidential terms. William Henry Harrison served for a month (Sun conjunct Uranus), James Garfield and William McKinley only eked out about six months apiece (Sun opposite and square Uranus, respectively), and Warren Harding served for about two and a half years (Sun opposite Uranus).  The Civil War raged throughout Abraham Lincoln’s Sun square Uranus 1861 term, with a tempestuous and chaotic situation for the entire country.  (All of these inauguration charts also included Jupiter conjunct or parallel Saturn.)

2021 Inauguration horoscope

A concern for 2021 is Uranus conjoining the inaugural Ascendant (less than 7½ degrees).  Roosevelt’s 1941 inauguration Uranus was solidly in the first house and he was forced to confront the constant unpredictability of war (though Uranus had no close classical aspects and the fixed grand cross did not involve it).  Roosevelt’s 1937 administration may more closely resemble 2021, as Uranus is in a grand cross with the Sun, Moon, Mars and Pluto.  Overseas conflicts were a key issue, but the U.S. was not yet at war.  Though in 1937, Uranus was in the twelfth house in the inauguration chart.

Ulysses S. Grant’s first term featured Uranus rising closely trine the Sun and a grand fire trine, quite a different pattern.  He was a reformer who supported Reconstruction and civil rights and made progress in these areas while stabilizing the economy. 

Uranus and Mars conjunct the first house in 2021 suggests a new identity and perspective for the country.  Mars in its detriment in Taurus holds the potential for volatility and even violence, and with an angular Sun square Uranus, the president will likely face some surprises.  Popular movements may impact the coming years, leading to reform or even some sort of crisis or revolution that shakes up the country in a significant way. 

But with traditional rulers, Saturn is the final dispositor of the 2021 inauguration chart, ultimately ruling both Mars and Uranus as well as the Sun.  Only a few chief executives began their terms with the Sun actually conjunct Saturn.  These coincided with contentious issues and the administrations were limited in time or by circumstances. 

Zachary Taylor was the only president not elected in a zero year to die in office.  His 1849 inauguration Sun conjoined both Saturn and the South Node.  Over a decade before the Civil War, the slavery debate had created partisan divisions and southern leaders threatened succession.  Rutherford B. Hayes came to the presidency in 1877.  With an inaugural Sun conjunct Saturn, Hayes’ election was one of the most hotly disputed in U.S. history.  He lost the popular vote, and electoral votes in the south were contested amidst charges of fraud and Black voter suppression.  John F. Kennedy’s Sun conjunct Saturn in Capricorn years are remembered for the Cold War, with civil rights also an important issue during the early ‘60s as well. 

All three of these Sun-Saturn administrations addressed Black inequality (the Sun-Saturn combinations reiterate the Sun-Saturn square in the U.S. horoscope).  With the Black Lives Matter movement in the forefront in 2020, it seems probable that racial justice will once again feature in the 2021 administration.  The president could be limited to some extent by public opinion (first house), opposing parties or international relations.  Like FDR or even Woodrow Wilson in 1913 with a Moon-Mars-Uranus conjunction straddling the ninth house cusp, the president may also need to begin to respond to developments abroad as the country’s relationships are re-evaluated and reorganized (since Mars or Pluto rule the inaugural seventh house). 

Uranus squaring Saturn in the tenth house in the 2021 inauguration highlights the breakdown of old structures, with movement into a new phase.  Unanticipated events might even impact the president personally. 

In fact, many presidential elections or inaugurations with hard aspects between Saturn and Uranus have coincided with a change in the president’s political party.  (We can consistently see this in the transitions from James Buchanan to Lincoln, Hoover to FDR, Truman to Eisenhower, Ford to Carter, Clinton to George W. Bush and Bush to Obama.)  This presents a likelihood that the same will occur in 2021. 

Though I personally need to analyze the candidates themselves before coming to a more definite opinion about the election (see my guidelines for forecasting political elections here), planetary cycles are very powerful! 

I analyze many inaugural horoscopes in my forthcoming book, Tecumseh’s Curse:  Indigenous Wisdom, Astrology and the Death of U.S. Presidents.

Presidential Nodal Returns

Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris will have her third Nodal return on September 17, 2020. Donald Trump will experience his fourth Nodal return on November 10, 2020. With both candidates experiencing this near-exact aspect this fall, what, if anything, does it bode for the election?

Ken Negus did an in-depth study of these returns and found that we often experience important new beginnings, endings or even sharp turns when the Lunar Nodes return to their natal places at the ages 19, 38, 56-7 and 76. Some encounter major transformations and others may find various areas of their lives affected. Ken researched these cycles in the lives of the presidents and confirmed that at the returns, some of the notable events included appointment to major political office.

I attended Ken’s lecture on this topic in 1996 and will summarize his findings.

The Moon’s nodal cycle of 18.6 years overlaps the 19-year Metonic Sun-Moon phase cycle (though they diverge noticeably as the years go on). Ken found that, like Harris and Trump, almost half of the 41 presidents he studied had angular Nodes. This makes sense since the Sun represents the ego and the Moon the public. It may also explain their ambition for public service (since any random group should only have the Nodes angular about a third of the time).

At the age of 38, Ken found that 17 of the 41 presidents studied (about 41%) were elected or appointed to important political offices. But the returns at 56-57 were the most impressive, perhaps as they are a prelude to the Saturn return. 7 of the 41 began their first presidential terms at this age, and 3 went on to a second term (making for a total of almost 25% who were elected president on a Nodal return).

4 completed their presidencies and 4 more were elected to other offices – Vice President or Congress. On the other hand, another 4 of the 41 studied died in office! Ultimately, about 61% experienced significant turning points in their political careers at their third return years.

Ken concluded that the half returns were also notable. At age 66½ there were more negative overtones, including difficult terms of office, the decision not to run, defeats, and the death of a candidate or their spouse. Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Andrew Johnson were born only 45 days apart, with natal Nodes separated by about 1¼ degrees. Johnson took over as president after Lincoln was assassinated near both of their half-Nodal returns. Jimmy Carter lost his bid for re-election. (John F. Kennedy was also killed at a half-Nodal return at the young age of 46.)

By the fourth Nodal return at the age of 76, most presidents were in retirement, but often experienced other significant life events. Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia and James Madison became rector of the same institution. John Quincy Adams intensified his political activities, chairing a committee to impeach President Tyler (which did not go forward). Harry Truman was involved in John F. Kennedy’s campaign.

Can we draw any conclusions from the Nodal returns for the 2020 election? There’s a likelihood that both Harris and Trump will each have important career transitions. It makes the most logical sense to me that Harris will be elected and Trump will be voted out of the White House. Harris’ Ascendant trines her dignified Saturn conjunct the 10th house, showing the slow and steady progress of her career, and this would be the next logical step for her. While Trump’s Sun conjunct his North Node and Uranus in the 10th indicates spectacular achievements with equally striking reversals, which would be in keeping with him losing support.

But the Nodal return is just one element to consider, and we need corroboration elsewhere to arrive at a definitive judgment.

About Ken Negus — his chart on Astrodatabank, and his bio/obit from the Astrological Society of Princeton.

The Ultimate Astrology Book

Many of us remember the book reviews in Dell Horoscope by astrologer Michael O’Reilly under the pen-name Chris Lorenz. O’Reilly was extremely fortunate to cover astrology books every month for 27 years – nearly an entire Saturn cycle! But astrology readers are now even more fortunate to have a collection of virtually all of his reviews as a ready reference in The Ultimate Book of Astrology Books – a massive collection.

It’s heartening to realize just how many titles have been written on real astrology in recent decades (no Sun-sign books are included), and how many talented and even brilliant authors have tackled such a wide variety of astrological topics. O’Reilly includes 334 reviews.

The Introduction describes the book’s organization and gives us some insight into the author, who admits his preferences for both asteroids and traditional astrology. The Table of Contents is organized by topic (the basics, natal, books about individual planets, predictive, comprehensive, synastry, financial and many more) and the e-book is hyper-linked to jump to the book or topics you’d like to explore. (One can also use the Kindle book search feature for whatever else you want to find.) The author index at the end is packed with some of the best-known names in the field, as well as numerous other insightful authors. As there are also quite a number of earlier texts reviewed as reprints, O’Reilly’s coverage probably includes not only the last Saturn cycle of publications but the previous one as well.

Those of us who research astrology’s past are often stymied by the inability to find copies of older magazines and books. Michael O’Reilly takes a step to correct that, as he has preserved not only his own work but his coverage of the hundreds of authors represented, too. We can even become aware of trends in topics and publishing.

Michael provides overviews of each book, highlighting the salient points the authors make and often providing a little history or background to the topic and brief excerpts, along with his personal observations. He consistently enters into the spirit of each book, and no two reviews are anything alike. They’re succinct and well-written, and at times we’re also alerted to errors or challenges to reading such as font size or the absence of an index.

Astrology readers may be frustrated by the lack of online reviews. We rarely know the point of view of individual reviewers, and as real astrology still continues to be a publishing “niche,” many specialized topics are often not covered at all. The Ultimate Book of Astrology Books solves these dilemmas by providing a trusted resource and consistently sensible opinions on a wide array of books. You’ll learn much about any topic just by reading the featured reviews.

This book should be required reading for skeptics to learn about the depth and breadth of astrology. We’re extremely lucky to be astrologers in the 21st century with so much literature readily available. This book is truly an expression of the epochal conjunction of Jupiter (books), Saturn (history) and Pluto (repurposing) in Capricorn. Treat yourself and buy it!

The Ultimate Book of Astrology Books is available at Amazon.com in e-book or paperback. (The paperback is reasonably priced at under $30, but be aware that it’s nearly 800 pages long!)

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A Scheme of Heaven

Alexander Boxer’s A Scheme of Heaven is a new work about the history of astrology. Obviously published to capitalize on astrology’s current popularity, the book benefits from the author’s familiarity with ancient texts, but is ultimately undermined by his scientific point of view.
Boxer is a classics scholar with an affection for the old tomes and languages. His bite-sized coverage of many astrological topics, from Manilius to Cardano, is often easy-to-understand and sometimes even entertaining. While the writer covers much familiar ground, I still learned some new things Chaucer wrote a textbook on using the astrolabe. Alexander the Great’s conquest in 331 BCE is accurately described by an eclipse omen tablet from 300 years before. And some have seen Shakespeare’s Hamlet as an astrological allegory, with the names Rosencrantz and Guildenstern turning up in Tycho Brahe’s family tree.

But the author is also a “data scientist.” The book’s U.S. subtitle, “The History of Astrology and the Search for Our Destiny in Data,” is, it seems to me, a faulty conceit. Boxer assumes that all astrology is essentially reducible to algorithms and statistics, and its allure simply due to our need for patterns. He rather gleefully and cavalierly reduces Bonatti’s rules for trading to a virtual investing program. In practice, it doesn’t work very well, but what could we expect without human judgment involved? (Mr. Boxer: Bonatti wrote aphorisms, NOT algorithms.)

Boxer addresses chart interpretation, the cyclic deaths of U.S. presidents in office and other topics in a similar manner, as the book devolves into a display of his cleverness. He’s solved the houses issue! He’s re-invented the chart wheel! (As his chart can’t even show an obvious opposition, it’s not of much use.) The writer couldn’t resist sharing his own birth data, with Jupiter rising in Leo square Venus and Mars in Taurus. The book’s major flaw is that it’s more about what the author can do than the topic at hand. His arrogance and self-indulgence have led him to presume that he could address a complex topic without being able to grasp its depth or the great continuity of its tradition.

A Scheme of Heaven proves one thing: that astrology is an occult study (one concealed or not apparent to all). Despite reading Ptolemy, Vettius Valens and Guido Bonatti in their original languages, the writer nevertheless lacks an essential understanding of what astrology actually is. While real astrology is thriving and there’s a proliferation of online classes and certification today, Alexander Boxer still considers it “a topic for which the whole idea of expertise seems thoroughly up for grabs.” The reality is either obscured or he hasn’t even bothered to check. He considers Mercury to be “in retrograde,” a dead giveaway to astrological cluelessness.

With nearly 30 people thanked for their contributions to this offering from a major publisher, it’s baffling that not one real astrologer was consulted. And no editor, proofreader or fact-checker was able to rescue Boxer from the intellectual prison of his linear mind. Boxed-in, as it were.

It appears to have become acceptable to admit astrology’s prominence in the past but not the present. The closest the author gets to exploring contemporary astrology is having a cookbook print-out done for himself and family members. He gives short shrift to the last four hundred years, becoming more derivative and disillusioned with each century that lies beyond his expertise.

Alexander Boxer’s attitude towards astrology is ambiguous at best. He assures us he had a wonderful time researching and writing this book and that he’s not a true debunker. But he admits it’s politically incorrect to associate oneself too closely with astrology, and fears he may end up like Otto Neugebauer, who translated Babylonian astrological cuneiform texts and was supposedly labelled as something of a crank. Ironically, the writer will probably never again find another project as uniquely tailored to his own talents.

For those who want to know more about astrology’s past, A Scheme of Heaven is worth reading. It’s also indicative of the modern malaise of those with nothing to believe in, who summarily dismiss anything outside their limited view.

If you’d like to learn more about the history and spirit of astrology, try something like Anthony Aveni’s Conversing with the Planets (by a more simpatico non-believer). Or better yet, just read anything by an actual astrologer. They’re very easy to find these days. Unless, like Mr. Boxer, you choose not to look.

Check out A Scheme of Heaven on Amazon.com.

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Edgar Cayce’s Birth Time

The famous psychic Edgar Cayce said he’d had 37 astrological readings, and nearly half of the astrologers felt his birth time was incorrect! Cayce’s Mercury in Pisces made him visionary and eloquent, but outside of his trance states, exact details may not have been a strength. And since Mercury sextiles his Moon conjunct Neptune, confusion might also follow.

Cayce was born in the 19th century, when many American birth times weren’t recorded, so astrologers often rectified their charts. Several astrologers in touch with Cayce in the early 20th century offered him their own, “quick and dirty” rectifications on his time of birth.

Myra Kingsley, who’d worked for Evangeline Adams, wrote to Cayce with a horoscope interpretation, saying, “I have the chart drawn up for about 3:30 p.m. by West Kentucky time, as I am quite sure, due to your unusual ability, that you have a late degree of Leo rising, and the Sun in the eighth house.”

American Federation of Astrologers founder Ernest Grant had requested Edgar’s birth data and some notable life events, and shared that, “I rather believe that you were born either about 1:10 p.m. or somewhere between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.”

Thomas Sugrue, in his biography There is a River, quoted Cayce’s grandmother for a time of “three o-clock exactly.” But his biography fictionalizes dialogue and life events, so would not necessarily be trustworthy.

In a 1936 letter, Edgar clearly stated that he was born at 1:30 P.M. on a Sunday afternoon, quoting “the actual record from my parents, the physician and the birth certificate record.” While in a trance state for a reading for himself in 1919, Cayce, through his metaphysical source, provided a 3:03 p.m. birth time. These are the only two documented times that we have; others have been altered by astrologers or those not consulting the original records.

Edgar Cayce regularly differentiated between physical birth, the time of a baby’s first breath, and soul birth, which could occur many hours later. I believe that the 3:03 p.m. time provided by the reading was Edgar Cayce’s soul birth time (rounded off and given to Edgar’s grandmother by Sugrue decades later). The original birth certificate time of 1:30 was probably near his physical time of birth. The readings consistently said that physical birth times should be used for horoscope interpretations.

Edgar Cayce was born on March 18, 1877 at 1:30 p.m. LMT, in the small town of Beverly, Kentucky (Christian County – 36N45, 87W32). I would rate it “AA,” from the birth record. Birth data is listed in reading 254-2, Report 4 and 294-8, Report 13 in the Cayce database. (The soul birth time is also from reading 254-2).

Edgar Cayce’s readings and many records of his life are available to members of the Association for Research and Enlightenment. I write the “Celestial Forces” column for their magazine Venture Inward, which covers many metaphysical topics. Sample issues are available here.

1918 Flu vs. COVID-19

As COVID-19 spreads, many are recalling the influenza pandemic of 1918. With the largest population in the U.S. (5 million), New York City was the worst hit. 33,000 died over a year, a third of all cases in the country. The City’s response was very different than for the 2020 Coronavirus restrictions, as the astrology shows.

When the flu first struck in the spring, it wasn’t serious. But New York was the arrival port for troops returning from Europe in World War I, and that fall influenza became a serious health concern. Young, healthy people were falling ill and dying.

The City’s health system, recently galvanized to combat tuberculosis, advised the public to avoid spitting and to use handkerchiefs – reminiscent of some of the hygiene suggestions we’re receiving a century later. The Health Commissioner ordered staggered work hours to lessen rush-hour crowding. 150 emergency health centers were put to work. But businesses, theaters and schools remained open to avoid panic. Teachers and school personnel were expected to assess children for symptoms and educate them. These measures seem to have worked as the death rate was much lower than in other large cities (about half a percent).

New York City has a dynamic horoscope, with Jupiter rising in Libra: it’s well-known for its focus on business, publishing and the arts. The Sun conjoining the 4th house in Capricorn reminds us that many make their homes here, too, and the T-square with Jupiter in Libra and the Midheaven in Cancer creates a lively, active place. Four planets in Sagittarius put the emphasis on communications and the value of its ports and many immigrants. Venus and Jupiter are in mutual reception and dispose of all the other planets, making New York a rather large and successful city.

As the flu arrived in the spring of 1918, a total Solar Eclipse activated the City’s Neptune conjunct Pluto in air-sign Gemini, and transiting Jupiter conjoined first Pluto, then Neptune in the 9th – allowing for a wide spread of a deadly pathogen by air. In September, when the flu became more dangerous, the progressed Moon in late Capricorn conjoined progressed Venus and the North Node, and squared the progressed Ascendant in Libra. Transiting Jupiter in Cancer conjoined the MC as it stationed on the City’s natal T-square, squaring 1st house Jupiter and opposing Saturn. As is so often the case, the emphasis on angularity made for more significant events.

While the cardinal signs and angular houses are again emphasized, the 2020 Coronavirus scenario is quite different. The authorities’ recommendation to shelter at home and avoid unnecessary travel are clearly shown by the transiting combination of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn in NYC’s 4th house. With so much Capricorn, there is a more serious, organized and controlled response.

Transiting Saturn conjoined the City’s North Node in the 4th in mid-February, perhaps the time when the infection originally arrived. When the first cases were reported in NY in March, transiting Jupiter in Capricorn conjoined natal Mercury (ruler of the 9th and 12th) in the 4th house. The progressed Ascendant at about 19 Capricorn conjoined the progressed North Node at 20 Capricorn (right on the January Lunar Eclipse at 20 Cancer), further adding to the emphasis on Capricorn and the North Node that we also saw in 1918. But as Mars, Saturn and Pluto have now moved away from these degrees, hopefully the imposed restrictions will help alleviate the contagion.

Evangeline Adams on NPR Podcast

I’m delighted that my biography of Evangeline Adams is featured on NPR’s Throughline podcast. They did a beautiful job of dramatizing her story!

Hosts Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei along with producer Lawrence Wu all did terrific research and learned about astrology before they interviewed me. As objective historians, they covered Evangeline’s story and then moved to the Reagans and astrology in the White House. The result is a beautifully-produced podcast with solid historical information on astrology in the U.S.

Here’s the link to Throughline’s “The Stars” podcast.

Check out my Evangeline Adams biography, Foreseeing the Future.

Mountain Astrologer Review

The Mountain Astrologer reviews my astro-bio, Foreseeing the Future: Evangeline Adams and Astrology in America in their February-March 2020 issue. Judi Vitale writes:

“This biography of one of the 20th-century America’s best-known astrologers never strays far from thoughts of the planets and stars, but Foreseeing the Future does take the reader on a gratifying vacation away from the workaday grind of heavyweight astrology theory and technique. Karen Christino’s tenacious research and passionate reporting give us a tantalizing view of virtually every aspect of Evangeline Adams’ extraordinary life.”

More on Foreseeing the Future here

Robert Zoller

Robert Zoller was an unforgettable character. Despite his focus on Medieval astrology, I always thought of him as a Renaissance man. He liked to call himself a “rogue scholar,” but was also a linguist, dowser, sketch artist and high-wire telephone electrician, as well as a man of extremes. Mild-mannered and modest, he could also be rather opinionated and even imperious (he claimed descent from Irish royalty). Outwardly a regular guy with a light New York accent, his work could be overly intellectual (consider a lecture entitled, “The Role of Hermes as Teacher, Initiator, Heirophant and Psychopomp”). A predictive astrologer, he probably leaned closer to the Fate side of the spectrum than many, yet as an adult he became a Lutheran (a Christian faith with an ideology based on Free Will).

Bob was a footloose vagabond who loved travel and could casually converse in Spanish with NYC waiters. A compelling speaker, his fame in the 1990s followed his translations of Hermes Trismegistus, Al Kindi and Guido Bonatti, and he sometimes lectured to standing-room-only crowds. He may be best remembered for his World Trade Center attack forecast, and while not hitting all the specifics (who could?), it was published in advance and sent to his subscription list in 1999 and 2000.

With no earth in his horoscope, Zoller was not very concerned about the material plane (something he probably thought an “infinite regress”). He lived simply and delved deeply into magic, meditation and spirituality. He argued that “Spirituality is a Saturn trip,” as he considered it involved more renunciation than Jupiterian expansion. He believed in angels and other beings not because the Bible told him so, but because he had experienced them first-hand.

While I had little use for the laborious Medieval astrological calculations he was attached to, I visited the Masonic Library in New York at his request, and accompanied him to W.D. Gann’s grave in Brooklyn (which I’m convinced he psychically found as we had little in the way of a map for guidance). He gave me the opportunity to turn the parchment pages of a 15th century Latin manuscript at the New York Public Library.

Bob’s outlook lay somewhere between radical libertarian and ultraconservative, but it would be wrong to categorize him. He shared subversive 1970s counter-culture classics. He didn’t vote as he felt that election results were pre-ordained. He’d calculate death dates on request from clients (to within 5 or 10 years), though he also felt that in astrological prediction, “If you’re getting 75%, you’re doing really well.” He scoffed at the ideas of evolution or alien UFOs. He suggested he was the reincarnation of Evangeline Adams, as they shared some similar horoscope placements and more than a passing physical resemblance. But as he relished both the profundity of life as well its absurdities, I was never certain whether or not he was joking.

With a consciousness always attuned to the cosmos, I trust that Bob Zoller is now off on another one of his audacious adventures.

Robert Zoller had a number of self-published books, though his one traditionally published title, the Arabic Parts in Astrology: A Lost Key to Prediction is still available at Amazon.com.

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Novel About Astrologer

Astrology is back in the mainstream and has been for a while. Astrologer Barbara Shafferman recommended a book that she discovered by chance – it just happened to be about an astrologer – 2009’s literary and mystery novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk. It’s a good read that says something about the contemporary human condition.

Janina, our protagonist and narrator, is a retired teacher living in rural Poland. She has a passion for studying astrology and helping a student translate William Blake’s letters. A vegetarian, she tries to live simply and shares great empathy with animals. But she suffers from debilitating health attacks and nightmares about her dead mother, while also finding herself in the midst of a series of local murders.

The book is part detective story and part psychological study: we get to know this marginalized woman living in an unbalanced, harsh environment. Her frustrations in dealing with the corrupt, ineffectual and even violent local authorities are very relatable since her age and unconventional beliefs make her someone who’s not taken seriously.

Janina admits she’s not a good astrologer, and maybe she’s not, as she puts small animals in the 3rd house. It’s hard to know whether the use of words like quadrature (for square) or cosmogram (for horoscope) were a translator’s lack of expertise or a choice to make Janina seem quaint (she also talks of using a slide rule for calculations). Does knowing her date of death support that the character is unrealistic or show the writer’s limitations on the subject?

Janina has some lovely thoughts about her place in the universe:
“The world is a great big net, it is a whole, where no single thing exists separately, every scrap of the world, every last tiny piece, is bound up with the rest by a complex cosmos of correspondences, hard for the ordinary mind to penetrate.”

Tokarczuk clearly knows astrology herself as she refers to it throughout the text; she worked as a Jungian therapist before her writing career. Born on January 29, 1962 in Sulechrow, Poland, she has the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn all in Aquarius – no surprise for someone attracted to astrology!

I won’t reveal the ending, but I found Drive Your Plow engrossing, with a skillfully balanced plot and the extra bonus of following a real character whose astrology – for better or worse – is part of the tapestry of her life.

Buy Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead on Amazon.com
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